Rent Arrears

We understand that there are many reasons why you may have rent arrears and will deal with this in an understanding way. However, rent arrears are a serious problem and can lead to the tenant losing the tenancy of your home.

If you are having difficulties paying your rent we strongly advise you to seek advice as soon as possible from the Rent Recovery Centre. Staff are there to offer help and assistance and all interviews are held in confidence.

Rent Recovery Centre, West District Housing Office
3 Sinclair Street, Lochee, Dundee, DD2 3DA
Tel: 307300

Rent Recovery staff will:

ensure that you receive help in claiming your full housing benefit entitlement
advise you of other agencies to contact that can help you claim all benefits to which you may be entitled
allow reasonable repayment instalments to be made
advise you of alternative methods of payment of rent (see the section "Ways to pay your rent")
conduct all interviews on rent arrears in private

What happens if you don't pay your rent?
If you fail to clear arrears, or consistently default on arrangements, action will be taken against you that can result in you losing your home. However, this is a last resort and we will make every effort to reach a suitable repayment solution with you before seeking an eviction order.

Reminder Letters
There are various reminder letters that you will receive if your tenancy goes into arrears. The first reminder letter is issued as soon as three weeks rent is due or, if your net rent charge is less than £10 per week, when TWENTY POUNDS is due. As soon as you receive this letter you should contact the Rent Recovery Centre. There may be many reasons why you have received this letter e.g. Housing Benefit being cancelled or a problem with your payment method. Even if you think there has been a mistake please contact us.

If you do not respond to this letter then a home visit will be arranged and a final letter will be sent to you. This is one step closer to more serious arrears recovery by the Rent Recovery Team.

Contacting the Rent Recovery Team, Tel 307300 is now a priority to prevent further action being taken against you. Further action could result in you being liable for legal expenses in addition to your rent arrears.

Notice of Proceedings
If your arrears balance does not reduce and you have not contacted the Rent Recovery Centre to reach an agreement, you will receive a 28 day written notice which will be hand delivered by Sheriff Officers to warn you that legal action is about to commence. Even when this stage has been reached you can still come to an agreement to repay your rent arrears.

If you do not make contact a rent recovery officer will try to make contact with you and try to help sort out the problem that is causing the non-payment of rent. Please remember that it is your responsibility to contact the Rent Recovery Centre. You can do this at any time to prevent further action being taken against you.

Court Action
If you do not contact us or no agreement is reached COURT ACTION WILL START 28 days after the notice of proceedings is issued.

If regular payments of rent have not been made or the outstanding balance of rent does not reduce, then we will raise a court action against you.

You will receive a summons to appear in court. The summons, in most cases, will be for payment of rent and eviction. It will show you how much rent is due and also give the court date.

LOSS OF YOUR HOME IS A SERIOUS RISK AT THIS STAGE - MAKE CONTACT WITH YOUR DISTRICT HOUSING OFFICE NOW.

You can still make an agreement to pay with the Rent Recovery Centre before further action is taken.

You will also be served with a form that will allow you to make a written offer to the court to pay by installments (Time to Pay Application).

You can represent yourself at the court hearing or appoint an agent to act on your behalf. You may also wish to contact any of the agencies listed on this web-page for advice, if you have not already done so.

The Next Step
Once a decree has been granted against you, you can be evicted. You must contact the Rent Recovery Centre to discuss this matter.

You should note that if you later reapply for housing with Dundee City Council we may consider that you have made yourself intentionally homeless. Depending on your personal circumstances, you may not be considered for either temporary or permanent accommodation.

Remember it is never too late to contact the Rent Recovery Centre. We want to help you resolve any problems you may be experiencing with payment of rent and will make every effort to ensure that you retain your tenancy.

If you are claiming benefit one method of payment may be by Arrears Direct from the Benefits Agency. This method of payment can be arranged by the Rent Recovery Centre. The claimant or their partner has to be a tenant with the housing department and in arrears. You must be on certain benefits to qualify for this payment method, such as Income Support or Job Seekers Allowance (income based). If you require any further information regarding this payment method or if you think you would qualify, please contact the Rent Recovery Centre, Tel: 307300.

You can get free independent information and advice about rent payment difficulties from several organisations:-

Citizens Advice Bureau
Central Library, Level 4
Wellgate Centre
Dundee
Tel: 307494

The Money Advice Support Team
Brooksbank Community Centre
Pitairlie Road
Dundee
Tel: 432452

Dundee North Law Centre
Top Floor
20 Grampian Gardens
Dundee
Tel: 432458

Shelter
1 Courthouse Square
Dundee
Tel: 0844 515 2528

Welfare Rights
Market Mews
Market Street
Dundee
Tel: 431167

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This information is provided by the Housing Department